Vegan taco pizza with black beans: A taste of nostalgia

This vegan taco pizza is nostalgia on a plate. Taco chips rest on a bed of greens, tomatoes, and beans on a cornmeal crust.

One of the biggest surprises in moving to the West Coast was the near total lack of taco pizza. That was astonishing to me as taco pizza is an institution in the Midwest. You’ll find it on the menu of every pizza place – from the one at the gas station, to the mom and pop restaurants, and even to national pizza chains that make a specialty taco pizza for their taco loving locals.

The one that was my favorite growing up was from Happy Joe’s.

Happy Joe’s started in Bettendorf, Iowa. It was the go-to place for kids’ birthday parties at a time when Chuck E. Cheese was still just a twinkling in some animatronic rat’s eye. In celebration of Little Emmy Lou or Billy Joe Jr.’s big day, an employee would come out with a squeaky black horn. A siren would sound and the room would go quiet while the employee announced, “Emmy Lou is seven today! Let’s all join in to sing happy birthday!” A roomful of strangers would sing while Emmy Lou beamed.

Afterwards, kids would steal pens from their mothers’ purses to fill out the word games on their paper placemats and chuckle over jokes printed on them that were sent in from kids all over the Midwest.

“Why did the man put his car in the oven? He wanted a hot rod.”

Then the kids would beg for quarters and run off to play in the arcade while parents talked over pitchers of pop and beer.

My brothers needed to be told when the pizza had arrived because they were immersed in the game room; however, I was only too aware. My favorite spot at Happy Joe’s was the platform and window where you could watch the pizza being made. I’d gaze at the pizza makers, pulling and stretching the dough and then loading it with toppings.

Then came the main event. With the platform as my stage I’d turn to face the unsuspecting audience and regale the customers with dances from my tap class or my own homemade choreographed show. I was 23. I’m kidding, I’m kidding. I was 5 or 6.

Once our pizza was ready, I’d run to the table, eager to eat my dinner… of chips. See, for a real tried and true taco pizza, you need crushed nacho flavored chips on top. Think of it as the pizza version of those noodle casseroles topped with crushed potato chips. The seventies were a marvelous time, weren’t they?

I’d start picking chips from the top of the pizza, happily crunching away, until my mom would inevitably size up the situation and tell me, “Cadry. You can’t just eat the chips.” It was worth a shot. I’d settle in to a whole slice… with a few extra chips for good measure.Meanwhile, on the other side of the state my someday-to-be husband was gobbling up taco pizza of his own. Apparently, one time his dad even forgot his brother there in the arcade. He came home with pizza for the family, and his mom said, “Did you forget anything?”

“No, I got the pizza,” his dad said.

“I mean your son. Happy Joe’s called.”

What did I tell you? That arcade was something of a Bermuda Triangle for preteen boys.

You can imagine my shock and disappointment when discovering that, in a similar fashion, on the West Coast taco pizza ceased to exist. (I found one place between LA and Phoenix that has it, and that’s it.) Happy Joe’s only made it as far as North Dakota and stopped. (Did they suppose a restaurant couldn’t hope for more than a city called Grand Forks? My sources say yes.)

In my fantasies, I imagined opening a restaurant selling taco pizza, showing the Angelenos what they were missing out on…

And then 9 years into living there I met my sooner-to-be husband, and I discovered that he too had a deep well of love for taco pizza. That well was so deep, he actually had people in Iowa send him boxes of the taco flavored chips that were essential for the true taco pizza experience. He had discovered in his time in LA that a SoCal chain had a similar crust to Happy Joe’s, and so in our early dating days we’d order their pizza, and then add raw chopped onions, lettuce, and taco chips.

It may come as no surprise after all of this that when we announced our engagement to my family back in Iowa, we all met up at Happy Joe’s. In came an employee who honked her squeaky horn. (Yes, I know. We’re fancy.) My family members looked at each other confused. None of us were celebrating a birthday. Then she said, “We have a special announcement! Cadry and David are getting married!”

The siren sounded, and there were hugs all around, and then I realized I should have pulled David from the Skeeball game first. (I kid, I kid. He’s terrible at Skeeball. He’s more of a Ms. Pac-Man guy.) In fact, I even gave taco pizza a shout out in my wedding vows.

Vegan taco pizza

Then we went vegan. And the taco pizza from Happy Joe’s with its dairy-based cheese, meat, and nacho chips were all put to the wayside. I started making a chickpea taco pizza on a Vicolo cornmeal crust.

It was and is delicious, but the chips for topping were elusive. Nothing was quite right for the spicy, crunchy topping. We tried blue corn chips, and they were too hard. We tried seasoning our own tortilla chips, but the spice blend was never quite right and felt a little dusty in the mouth. Eventually we gave up and settled to the idea of a life of chip-less taco pizza.

Then, like a cilantro-fueled dream, Garden of Eatin’ came on the scene with their Pico de Gallo chips, and the chipful taco pizza was born again. The crunch, the seasoning, it’s all right on. (But very dangerous. Somehow those bags have a hard time staying full in our kitchen cupboards.)

This recipe is part of my continuing series on ways to use one component of a meal for several entrees. It utilizes spicy black beans and several cupboard and freezer staples. If you feel like making homemade marinara and crust, go for it. But we love this meal for something hearty, indulgent, fun and quick. It’s an occasional treat with a lot of sentimental value.

Plus, using some pre-made products and leftover spicy black beans means that the whole shebang, including baking time, is done and on the table in twenty minutes. You couldn’t drive to Happy Joe’s, park, order, and do a couple of tap numbers in that amount of time.

The only thing missing? Those placemats with crosswords and corny jokes, but I’m working on that. I came up with this little beauty last week. Tell me if you think it’s up to snuff for a sheet of paper used to protect my table from splotches of pizza sauce…

“Why does the bird outside my window only sing the same one line to a song over and over? Early bird gets the ear worm!”

1 small tomato, chopped

1 green onion, sliced with end removed

1 Tablespoon chopped cilantro, for garnish (optional)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Top the cornmeal crust with marinara and spicy black beans.

Bake for 15 to 17 minutes, depending on how crispy you like your crust.

Remove the pizza (and hot rod, if necessary) from oven. Cut into slices and top with green leaf lettuce, chips, tomato, onion, and cilantro.

Cuisine: Vegan |Recipe Type: Pizza

Notes

*Feel free to use your favorite vegan nacho-flavored chips and/or another crust of your choosing. The Vicolo crust is 8 inches in diameter. So depending on the crust size of your pizza, you may want to add more of the toppings. Adjust the cooking time to fit your crust.

I really love the sound of this pizza and also enjoyed your childhood story Cadry. From an Australian who hasn't been to the USA, a place like Happy Joe's is something I have only visually experienced by watching TV shows or movies but you described it so well I felt like I was there! :-)
My husband adores beans, Mexican food and pizza but I haven't actually combined them before. The corn chips on top sound really interesting too, I'll definitely be giving this a try soon.

That's so sweet of you to say, Mel! You know how it is with childhood memories. They take on a sepia-colored sweetness in our minds.
I hope you give it a try! It's a well loved mainstay in the heartland, and it sounds like it would fit your husband's palate perfectly.

Thanks, Caitlin! You owe it to yourself to get on the taco pizza train pronto. It has to be up there as one of my favorite meals. Unfortunately, the cornmeal crusts aren't gluten-free. I'm kind of surprised that they don't have a gluten free option. The only other option they have is a spelt crust. Luckily, the chips are gluten free. :)

I love your corny jokes. I guess coming from me, that is not much of a surprise.
I love everything about this pizza. It is too bad I've already used up all of your spicy black beans in tacos and burritos this week.

We both definitely embrace the corny joke! Why fight it?
I'm so glad that you've been eating the spicy black beans! The taco pizza is good with any other bean you fancy if you've overdosed on black beans.

My heart skipped a beat when I saw this recipe on Pinterest this morning. I also grew up in the land of Happy Joe's (in southern MN) and hosted or attended multiple birthday parties there. Twenty-some years later I live in Chicago and have a very different diet but their taco pizza will always have a place in my heart. Can't wait to try this, thank you!

Yay! Happy Joe's lovers unite! There's something about those memories of birthday parties and get togethers that brings about nostalgia, doesn't it? I hope you enjoy the pizza, Erica, and that it takes you back again! :)

After reading your heartfelt tribute to taco pizza, I'm almost embarrassed to admit I've never had one! Maybe I've just been vegan too long. :) I have had the pico de gallo chips, and since I can't keep my hands off the bag, I rarely let them into the house. However, you've convinced me I need to make a taco pizza really soon. Now I just have to find a cornmeal crust — or work up the courage to make my own gluten-free one.

Vegan too long? No such thing! :D I totally feel you on not being able to keep your hands off the bag of Pico de Gallo chips. I almost never buy them because I have no control where they are concerned. Instead, it's usually my husband who brings them home when he gets the groceries. In that moment I feel both delighted and doomed. ;)
Let me know how things go with making a gluten free cornmeal crust! I'd like to try it for myself sometime. It seems like the evenings I make pizza for dinner are the ones when I'm looking for something substantive and quick, and a homemade crust doesn't exactly fit the bill on that. However, it would be fun to try my hands at something new!

Cool! I went to college in central Ohio and there were no taco pizzas to be had, I had no idea what an institution they are. I grew up with Shakey's, and your post reminded me of watching the workers make pizza through the window, too. I used to love that! So glad you found those PIco de Gallo chips, I was gonna suggest them and was glad to see you already embraced them in your pizza tradition.
xo kittee

Of course we both loved watching them make pizzas! It all makes sense since we both love watching people cook now too - hence our devotion to blogs!
Since taco pizza was always my favorite, it's a surprise that it's not more widespread, especially just traveling to Ohio, which isn't far.
Those Pico de Gallo chips are marvelous, aren't they? I know some people are more attached to Beanfield's nacho chips or the Kettle Tias. I've had them both and they were fine, but I'm a Garden of Eatin' girl all the way.

Gosh this is so funny. Too funny, I fact! I'm from North Dakota. My love of Happy Joe's taco pizza runs deeeeeep. Admitably, whenever I hear someone talk about taco pizza, I roll my eyes and scoff thinking "they have no idea how taco pizza should taste!" But alas! You do! We also have those same chips in our cupboards.....I do believe I know what's for dinner this weekend. Thanks!

Yay! Another Happy Joe's fan from way back! They know how to make the quintessential taco pizza. If you decided to make one of your own, I hope that you enjoyed it and it brought back some good memories!

Happy Joes was the place to be in 1978 to be sure! Did they have the red spinning light over the tables at yours during birthday time?
So, you think you've got it rough. Try getting even a decent pizza in the UK (where the most popular topping combo is tuna and corn) or a taco for that matter. Then try asking for a taco pizza. Yeah, right. Then ask for a vegan taco pizza and see 'em laugh you right out the door.
What's a Wisconsin ex-pat supposed to do?
The pico chips sound awesome! Maybe my mom can put some in my Crimbo (that's Christmas to you Yanks) package along with my Door County Polish mustard.

Absolutely! The spinning lights and checkered table cloths were a must. I haven't been to Happy Joe's in several years, but the last time I was there, they still had at least one spinning light. The birthday honking tradition continues!
Wow, tuna and corn? I have never heard of such a combination! Sounds awful! I've been to England a couple of times, and after returning home, my first quest was to get a taco. You're right; they're non-existent there. I can only imagine the impossible mission of finding a taco pizza! I hope your mom was able to send some Pico de Gallo chips your way for some taco pizza goodness at home!

Birthday parties at Happy Joe's were an absolute right of passage. My family would take my brother and me to the one in either Dubuque or Monticello and the best part was watching them make your pizza. Whenever they would make a taco pizza, I thought they were spreading peanut butter on the crust - I don't think I'd ever seen refried beans before. You forgot to mention the Barn Burner ice cream sundae - enough ice cream and toppings to feed a family of 26.

What great memories, Becky! In the days before YouTube, watching the pizza makers work their magic was like its own private cooking show. I had forgotten about how the refried beans looked like peanut butter, but you're right. I'm sure that was my first introduction to them as well. Thanks for sharing!

[...] in to quick dinners lately, I used a store-bought, cornmeal-based crust from Viccolo that Cadry turned me on to (they come in regular and wheat-free, but if you need to, you can use a gluten-free [...]